Byline: Lydia Denney

Two years after an initial jail tax proposal was voted down by Whatcom County voters, a revised tax agreement will be on the ballot in November. There has been frequent controversy over the proposed new jail’s size, funding and location. On July 10, Bellingham became the last city in Whatcom County to approve the new tax proposal, called the Jail Facility Use Agreement. On July 11, the Whatcom County Council approved putting the jail measure on the November ballot. The ballot measure proposes raising the sales tax by 0.2 percent to fund the construction of the new jail and other […]

In January 2016 , the advisory committee was organized to recommend a set of guidelines for gender-neutral facilities on campus. The committee consisted of faculty, staff and students, with input also coming from LGBTQ+ student groups. According to the guidelines created by the committee, the future changes include converting single-occupancy facilities to be gender neutral, adding gender-neutral restrooms to the main floor in every building and in future construction or renovations and publicizing the location of gender-neutral facilities on campus. Sue Guenter-Schlesinger, vice provost for equal opportunity and employment diversity and Title IX and ADA coordinator, was a co-chair for […]

Bellingham’s 18th Pride Parade and Festival drew a crowd organizers estimated at 9,300 people to the Depot Market Square Sunday, July 9. The Pride Parade and Festival celebrated members of the Bellingham LGBTQ+ community. The Bellingham Pride Festival began in 1999 as just six picnic tables in Fairhaven Park. Since then, the festival has grown to an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 attendees. People who attended this year’s parade and festival ranged from children and college students to librarians and drag performers. Despite prostests against corporate sponsorship, the Bellingham Pride Festival was the still second largest Pride event in Washington state. […]

With summer 2017 in full swing, here are some retailers and swimwear companies that are making an impact in the fashion world with body-positive campaigns. #AerieREAL – Aerie for American Eagle Since the spring of 2014, the #AerieREAL campaign has been promoting body positivity and empowerment for all women. Aerie is a lingerie and swimsuit line sold through American Eagle Outfitters that features a wide range of unretouched women in their ads and social media. Since the #AerieREAL campaign began, American Eagle’s sales have only increased. In fact, sales were up by 32 percent in May of 2016. Last […]

Sports

By Tyler Urke The percentage of women using the weight room in the Wade King Student Recreation Center has tripled in the last five to seven years, according to rec center fitness coordinator Ron Arnold. Weight room staff is also around 50 percent female. However, for some female Western students, the weight room has been nicknamed the “manquarium” because of its reputation of being mostly full of men and unwelcoming to others. Junior Deepika Verma has experienced unwanted attention in the weight room firsthand. She said one day she stood up after stretching and noticed a man staring directly at […]